It’s pumpkin season! My sister, Laura, is in heaven. She loves all things pumpkin. Pumpkin shapes, pumpkin dishes, pumpkin art. I, on the other hand, like the concept of pumpkins. I love the shape of pumpkins. I love jack o’lanterns. I love Halloween. In fact, when I worked at the University, I took off Halloween as my personal day (more on that in a later post). But, I’ve never been a big fan of pumpkin-oriented food.
Now that I have a family to feed, and that family loves pumpkin, I’ve had to explore pumpkin more than I would have if left to my own devices. What I have discovered is that I don’t like overly-spiced pumpkin. The pumpkin pie spice mix? Yuck. Overly-spiced cookies? Ick. Most commercially-made pumpkin pie? Yeeeuuuck. Seriously, those things are developed with a palate different from mine in mind. And cloves–uber-uck. The over-use of cloves has been the biggest obstacle to my exploration into pumpkin land.
And then I discovered pumpkin cake and pumpkin bread. With a subtle use of spice instead of overkill. Seriously, these two treats brought me into the pumpkin-lovers’ corner with everyone else. And the following coffee cake is one of the favorites of my Coffee Hour crowd. It comes from the November 2005 Gourmet Magazine.
As you can imagine, this cake is flavorful without being over-spiced. It has cinnamon and allspice. That’s it. It’s also wonderfully moist due to the pumpkin and buttermilk. It’s the perfect coffee cake for the season.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
-adapted from one in Gourmet Magazine
Special equipment needed
-10 to 12 cup bundt pan
-A stand mixer makes everything easier and faster, but a hand mixer will do
Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
2 tsp aluminum-free, double-acting baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar added), well shaken before measuring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 extra large eggs
extra butter and tapioca flour for pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Butter and flour your bundt pan with tapioca flour, set aside
-in medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt, set aside
-whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in bowl,set aside
-in bowl of mixer, beat butter until fluffy
-add sugar and beat for 3-5 minutes–until uber-fluffy!
-add eggs and beat 2 more minutes
-reduce speed and add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture
-spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Thump pan on counter to get rid of any lurking air bubbles
-bake for about 50 minutes or until tester comes out clean
-cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto cooling rack
Enjoy!
Note: If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.
I made this cake last holiday season and it was a huge hit. Now I’m thinking of making it for my daughter’s first birthday, with a whipped cream frosting. Is there any reason this wouldn’t work as a layered cake with a whipped cream frosting? I found a recipe for a “stabilized” whipped cream frosting. Thank you! I love this recipe!
Holly: I think whipped cream as a frosting is yummy–especially a stabilized one. I’m guessing it would be best to frost the cake just before serving.
I personally love all those typical pumpkin pie spices. What would be an easy way to add some of them in here? A dash of cloves? Substituting pumpkin pie filling? I don’t want to over-spice, but I’m concerned this will taste just like *pumpkin*, when I really love that whole pumpkin-pie vibe… Thank you!
Holly: I would experiment. Instead of the cinnamon and the allspice, use pumpkin pie spice–see how that goes. If it’s not enough, add another 1/2 teaspoon and see how it tastes. Happy baking!
I am going to make this and the Maple cake for a fall themed bridal shower this weekend… have you ever put a glaze on this cake and if so what kind of glaze have you used… thanx for your help…
Jan: I usually make this without a glaze. If you want to serve it with something, a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side is nice! Happy bridal shower!
This was amazingly good. Everyone who tried it loved it. It was moist and held it’s shape. I mailed to my friend in California. We will see how it holds up. He should get it today. Once again, than you for the work you do. It is wonderful!
Ginger: Oh, I’m so glad!! I’m so happy to help. And thank you!
Jeanne where do the eggs go in? I am assuming in with the pumpkin and milk mixture,,is that correct?
De:
Oh, geez. Sorry about that. They go in after you beat the sugar and butter. Add them and beat a couple minutes more. I will edit that to be correct!
Thanks for asking!
–Jeanne